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There are good, great, and not-so-wonderful skincare products at every price point and in every single store or shopping website. But the one thing that all of these products have in common are a few ingredients that most, if not all, experts agree are just plain bad for your skin.
You may be investing a ton of money in a quality anti-aging skincare routine, but unless the ingredients you are using are giving back in terms of effectiveness and nourishment, they could actually be doing more damage than good.
This is the one product dermatologists say you should STOP using because it causes wrinkles.
When it comes to skincare products you should outright reject, it’s more about eliminating a specific ingredient from your regimen than it is one specific product. Any and all skincare cleansers, serums, moisturizers, or eye creams that contain sulfates, which go by the names sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth ether sulfate (SLES), can actually be aging.
Sulfates are used to create soap bubbles and lather, providing people with that feeling of clean they often associate with both. If you color your hair, there’s no doubt you’ve heard about how harsh shampoos with sulfates can be on strands — how they can actually strip away color faster than sulfate-free shampoos.
The problem with using sulfates in skincare products is similar — they simply aren’t gentle enough.
“SLS can often dry out the skin, and some people find they may lead to more acne when their skin is in frequent contact with SLS,” David Lortscher, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and cofounder and CEO of Curology, told Teen Vogue. “This is typically less of a problem with body skin [versus face skin], so most people tolerate SLS in body washes."
One of the reasons we incorporate moisturizing serums and creams into our skincare routines is because all of that good hydration can keep fine lines and wrinkles at bay and, at the very least, minimize their appearance. So any product that is drying out your skin is also helping to create more lines and wrinkles.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from sulfate-filled skincare you’ll find one of the most important products you can use to combat the effects of aging: a sulfate-free sunscreen like this option, a moisturizing gel-based formula with SPF 50 that is free of both sulfates and parabens and infused with ingredients like red algae and vitamin E.
Of all of the skincare products you can use, a good sunscreen — one that is as close to natural as possible — is the best tool you have in your anti-aging kit.
